You’re standing in front of a building. It may be the right one, it may not. You’re not sure. To be honest, the building right next to it looks the same and could be the right building. The building that was across campus could be, too. Around you people confidently hustle to their next class. You see friends excitedly embracing one another, smiles and laughter ringing in the air. In the sea of 6,000 people, 0 are looking for you. 0 are excited to see you. 0 know you exist. You traverse the campus with the sun beating down on your forehead. You feel sweaty and self-conscious, worried that you’ll introduce yourself to people and they won’t like you because of it. You look down at your map and feel the weight of how small and out of place you are.
Imagine being a single person out of nearly 6,000 and not knowing anyone else. Imagine struggling to find your way around a 630-acre campus, somehow managing to turn the transit system into an excuse for why you’re late to class instead of a fast way to maneuver around campus.
Now. Imagine seeing familiar faces everywhere. Imagine attending classes that you know will likely be easier (even if just based on the number of credits and assignments) after reading the syllabi. Imagine living with your friends instead of strangers and getting lost exploring together. Imagine having someone drop you off and pick you up from classes. Imagine being confident within yourself even in an unfamiliar place.
Oxford makes the latter experience possible. In my previous article, I said that Oxford’s community is its biggest strength, as the people you meet will make or break you. I believed the magic wouldn’t transfer. I thought that the 1,000 students at Oxford would be drowned out by strangers, but in reality, there are familiar faces everywhere.
While attending Oxford College, the Atlanta campus can resemble a huge campus with tons of random people in it, but upon arrival, you realize that it’s really not that big, there’s just an infinitely larger number of buildings in a slightly larger space. The pressure of making new friends is weighted optionally, as you already have them. Oxford gives you the confidence to see Atlanta as an opportunity, instead of a large, overwhelming place.
As I was sitting in one of my classes, I realized that Oxford pushes you in such a way that puts you through so much that you become far more resistant to the stressors of the Atlanta campus. Teachers with higher expectations, classes that take up more time, the isolation, the repetition; it gives you an impenetrable skin.
When I wrote the previous article, I had to work very hard to be positive. I won’t even lie. Upon leaving, although I had grown to appreciate Oxford (thanks to great teachers like Dr. McGeHee and Dr. Shannon), I still wished I hadn’t chosen to attend.
But after my first day of classes, I have noticed a correlation between the amount of time I spend on the Atlanta campus and the amount I appreciate Oxford. So, to the previous, current, and future students of Oxford, know that your choice will pay off. Know that Oxford will enrich you in ways that can only be experienced once you get outside of Oxford. Know that everything is exactly how it should be, and you are exactly where you should be.
